Psalm 27:11-12 Journey Sharing

Psalm 27:11-12 “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.  Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me and they breathe out violence.”

Adversaries:  Sin, Self & satan… very real danger; sobering reality

Only way to be protected from the will of our adversaries, is for the Lord to teach us HIS way and lead us on a level path

Learning His Way: “His ways are not ours; His ways are higher than our ways”

His ways are not natural for us, we must learn them= effort & time

         How?–His Word; His Spirit; His people; His world

Practical, rubber-meets-the-road examples of LEARNING HIS WAY

  • His Way in Relationships (vs our way): Col. 3:12-15 …NOT natural for us; opposite is natural and feels comforting but it will destroy us; must learn His way = new way of relating to ppl; costs of obedience vs cost of disobedience
  • His Way is a call to Warfare Living! (Eph. 6) Understand our bond with Jesus Christ;  we are ONE with Him in the deepest most intimate way—so we can claim the power of His death, burial, resurrection and ascension….refuse to be discouraged; reject every attempt of the enemy to make us FEEL defeated…. We are MORE than conquerors through Him who loves us…. I’m pretty sure everyone in this room has felt discouraged and defeated… He does not teach us this….it is not His way; His way is the way of encouragement; fresh starts; full forgiveness and total victory….  Stand Firm with the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith…. Learning His way = learning warfare!!
  • His Way is a way of FAITH:  “Just as you received…so walk in Him”  learning to live lifeby faith & dependence (=evidence of things not seen)
    • Faith is all-pervasive: 
    • The degree I live by faith is the degree to which I have:   victory, quietness and confidence; perseverance and peace in the face of anything — I MUST learn to live by faith and not by sight…this is His way and it is the only protection from adversaries and primary means of blessing/joy…not natural, it must be learned
    • Personal:  Psalms unrelenting trust in HIS unfailing love
    • Greatest work I can do for Him is not DOING….it is BELIEVING; Trusting

2.  To be led down a Level Path??

What does this mean?  Stability in the face of real life; we don’t overreact or underreact; we are calm; faithful; persevering and loyal…. UNSHAKEN in our calling and identity.

… Notice, this comes AFTER Learning His Way = A level path is the resulting blessing of learning His Ways… Don’t get the cart before the horse

The extent of how level my path is, is the extent to which I am learning His Ways 

If I’m not walking a level path, I’m not being led by Jesus.

It is a journey; taking time and effort – the measure to which my path is level is the measure to which I am learning HIS WAY

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:

  • How have you learned these principles or seen them play out in your life?
  • Input or enrichment?
  • Questions?